Mike, have you finished your paper yet?

A New Jersey university is hosting an academic symposium devoted entirely to Bruce Springsteen.

More than 150 papers by academics from across the United States, Sweden, Canada, Italy and Britain will be presented at the symposium, dissecting everything from the singer's patriotism to his ruminations of the working man.

Springsteen makes the academic grade in New Jersey - Boston.com

Our heart goes out to those affected by Katrina

Donate to the Red Cross, please. Blood, money, whatever you can.

Hurricane Katrina - MSNBC.com

I like these Gap ads about your favorite song

Featuring Alanis Morissette, Joss Stone, John Legend, Michelle Williams (Destiny's Child), Jason Mraz, Keith Urban, Liz Phair and Brandon Boyd (Incubus). Some pretty cool stuff and interesting choices.

MultiVu - Jeans and Music - The Perfect Fit at Gap this Fall

Another awards show where the MEB got nothing

At least Green Day won some stuff. And Alicia Keys and The Killers and Kelly Clarkson and ...

Oh, just read the article and watch the 7.5 million replays on MTV.

MTV Pulls Off Awards Despite Drama - Yahoo! News

Songwriting guru Richard Thompson on NPR

Listen to the interview and hear him performing a number of tunes, including "Oops! I Did It Again" and "Tempted." Now there's an eclectic mix, eh? But then, that's exactly what you would expect of Richard Thompson.

NPR : Richard Thompson, Live in Studio 4A

Don't they have something better to do?

The Tennessee state attorney general wants Gretchen Wilson, the country singer who made the song "Redneck Woman" a hit, to stop "glamorizing" the use of smokeless tobacco at her concerts.

Wilson Pressed on Smokeless Tobacco - Yahoo! News

The Daily Show rocks

Wired talks to Jon Stewart and his producer. Pretty darn funny stuff.

Wired 13.09: Reinventing Television

Music pioneer Bob Moog dies

Technology News Article | Reuters.co.uk

There are times that you really need a beer

Police battle looters after beer train crashes - MSNBC.com

Something a little strange about this

Isn't it a little weird to have an interview with a puppet? Or is that just me? You may as well interview your socks.

But I do a wicked Kermit imitation, so I'll let this one pass.

Everyone’s Favorite Frog - MSNBC.com

Live from Buffalo: Green Day in concert

This is a recap/review of the August 13 Green Day show in Buffalo. Read the article from the bottom up to follow along with the evening.

USATODAY.com - Live from Buffalo: Green Day in concert

A follow-up on the Marc Cohn shooting

"I touched myself and it was blood all over my hands, and my clothes," Cohn recounted, according to excerpts of the interview released Thursday by ABC News.

"And I realized I was the one who’d been hit ... every second that passed by, I thought, 'That’s the last one. That’s the last second I’ll be here,"' he said. "And it was terror, disbelief and just a prayer. 'Please don’t let this be it."'

Marc Cohn recalls carjack shooting - MUSIC - MSNBC.com

Scorsese documents Dylan on film

The two-part film, directed by Martin Scorsese, focuses on Dylan’s life and music from 1961-66 and includes never-seen footage from the Bob Dylan Archives and interviews with Allen Ginsberg, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and other artists and musicians whose lives intertwined with Dylan’s during that time.

See the trailer here: Apple - No Direction Home: Bob Dylan

How badly do you want a cheap laptop?

Good idea: The school district decides to get rid of a bunch of outdated laptops by selling them for $50 each to the public.

Bad idea: Have the sale at the Richmond International Raceway, let the crowd gather around only one gate, then fling it open, creating a total mob scene and riot.

CNN.com - Panic ensues in rush for cheap laptops - Aug 16, 2005

Whoops - I better take off my flip-flops

Everybody's dressing more casual at work, it seems like. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Hmmm.

USATODAY.com - Going toe-to-toe on office etiquette

The "Lennon" musical may not last long

The show opened last Friday, and the critcs have not been kind at all.

IOL: Critics savage Lennon musical

If I had $1,000, this is not how I would spend it

Hang with Rick Springfield? Sure, for $1,000 - ROCK MUSIC - MSNBC.com

Even Mike was little once

Here's a fun link to pictures of celebrities when they were kids. Funny to see how normal and geeky so many of these folks were. Maybe there's hope for us after all.

Or not.

Famous kids

Carlos gets his kicks

Carlos Santana is coming out with a line of women's shoes.

What?!?! Am I the only one that thinks this is just a little strange?

Nordstrom.com Boutique - Carlos Santana

Scary scene for Marc Cohn

Grammy Winner Marc Cohn Shot in Head - Yahoo! News

Now this is an interesting tribute album

It's a re-invention of The Beatles Rubber Soul from 1965. And an interesting mix of artists are involved. This could be really cool!

01 Drive My Car - The Donnas
02 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - The Fiery Furnaces
03 You Won't See Me - Dar Williams
04 Nowhere Man - Low
05 Think for Yourself - Yonder Mountain String Band
06 The Word - Mindy Smith
07 Michelle - Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
08 What Goes On - Sufjan Stevens
09 Girl - Rhett Miller
10 I'm Looking Through You - Ted Leo
11 In My Life - Ben Lee
12 Wait - Ben Kweller
13 If I Needed Someone - Nellie McKay
14 Run for Your Life - Cowboy Junkies

Pitchfork: Daily Music News

7 celebrities that need our help

And let's start with Katie Holmes. Get out now while you still can!

When enough is enough - MSNBC.com

C'mon, Mike, get to work on this

"I’m inviting all aspiring songwriters to write their own chords and melodies around my lyrics," Mayer writes in the September issue of Esquire, on newsstands Aug. 15. "You can tell people we wrote a song together."

Help John Mayer finish a song - MSNBC.com

Michelle Branch Has a Baby Girl

People.com